Ever since Donald Trump officially entered the presidential race on June 16, 2015, the national news media has treated him with total disdain. It has been even worse since Donald Trump was elected President as networks such as CNN and MSNBC have devoted almost their entire broadcast schedule to attacking his personality, temperament and agenda.

recent special session call becomes all the more apparent when another example surfaced of Louisiana’s subpar fiscal policy.

In the days prior to the session’s launch next week, the state announced Gameloft would close its New Orleans office, reneging on a deal to bring more jobs to the state. This meant it gave away nearly a million dollars over the past seven years to the gaming firm under the Digital Interactive Media and Software Tax Credit, or almost $25,000 per job created. The total amount actually comes close to $2 million, but the state plans on clawing back over half.

As he finishes his first year in office President Donald Trump is hitting his stride politically. Right before Christmas, the President led the Republican Party to a major congressional victory. Passing the huge $1.5 trillion tax cut legislation was not only a political triumph for the President and the GOP; but it will also be an economic triumph for our country. The tax bill will give average Americans and businesses needed relief, will eliminate the odious Obamacare mandate and open drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The victory was secured despite a very thin GOP majority in the Senate and the President’s perilous relations with a number of anti-Trump Senators. Fortunately, the benefits of the bill persuaded all Republican Senators to support the far-reaching legislation. The booming economy will now grow even faster in 2018.

Hours after the United States President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress celebrated a humongous legislative victory with passing its tax reform package in record time without any Democratic support, back home in Louisiana, there's a different tune being sung.

First, up in DC: The US tax reform plan passed without any hearings and sworn testimony. Very few, if anyone in Congress read the legislation since none of them even saw it until an hour or so before the vote. That legislation, which passed and signed into law today, put the finishing touches upon the Trump-led US Congressional congressional agenda in which all respect for the ordinary congressional process was ignored. Earlier this year, Republicans unsuccessfully yet similarly attempted to repeal Obamacare without any hearings, or participation by the minority Democrats and yes, without legislation being available for lawmakers to debate.

The Tax Reform legislation pushed by President Donald Trump is a day or days away from being voted upon in the US Congress. One Louisiana progressive-leaning organization, Louisiana Budget Progress, compiled the below in its daily newsletter.

Donald Trump is promising that he and his Republican gang of reindeers will bestow a big beautiful Christmas gift to us all--since presumably we have been nice rather than naughty. The present? None other than a whopping oversized tax reform package, covered with beautiful ribbons, silk-wrapped and all.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been a disaster for the Republican Party and has been a totally ineffective partner for President Trump in passing critical legislation. After failing on the vitally important bill to repeal Obamacare, McConnell and his Republican colleagues face a major test in the tax reform bill.

The stakes could not be higher for the GOP and President Trump. If they cannot show results to the American people, there will be a political bloodbath in the 2018 mid-term elections.

How does the process in passing the Republican tax plan and its attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act compare with the actual passage of Obamacare during 2009 to March 2010?

For years, Republicans have slammed the Obamacare legislative process, Congress not reading the legislation, it being passed without the support of the people. Speaker of the House's Nancy Pelosi's statement about passing the bill into law so they know what's in it might go down as the one of the most-quoted political lines for American history.

Now that the Republican tax reform acts have passed both the US House and the US Senate, the focus turns to the issue of which provisions are ultimately adopted by the conferees and, of course, the US Congress.